Revelry

Today marks the halfway mark of the first leg of my multi-country / team trip. My time with Grace Community has been met with both great sadness and excitement. On Saturday we toured Auschwitz and Auschwitz-Birkenau. I’m still struggling to put my thoughts down on paper, as my senses are still overloaded with the sights, sounds and smells of the concentration camps. The overwhelming sense of wickedness and evilness that was the Nazi Regime is mind-blowing.

Our trip hasn’t been solely marked by the great sadness of the concentration camps. Tonight we were able to send out four mixed teams of Poles, Romanians and Americans to share the gospel with people in the surrounding community. For our students, this was their very first experience in sharing the gospel. Sam, Katie, Melissa and Dana were admittedly scared before heading out, but were all smiles upon their return. While sharing stories with one another, we came to find out that two people had made professions of faith. You could see the excitement written on our team’s faces as they relayed their conversations back to us. The fear seems to have melted away in light of how God allowed them to participate in leading these two people to faith in Christ.

Today we head off to Zywiez, Poland to train a church in both EE and Spiritual Boot Camp (SBC,) a ministry Pastor Ted developed for discipling new believers. Please continue to pray for us as we work with a church in Zywiez today and then in Wodzislaw on Wednesday. Pray that we can be of assistance in brining believers into maturity.

Click here to see a couple photos.

It seems that I’m always asking the question, “Where to begin?” as I write to you. These last three weeks have been jam packed with an XEE Launch in Silver Spring, MD, our Mission to Congress trip in DC, and a trip to Minnesota to visit friends and participate in a couple weddings.  As I write this to you, I’m actually sitting inside my office, which more recently seems like a place I visit than work from.

While on the road, I heard from our friends in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. Since our EE trip there in May, they have taken the gospel training and left for China where they are evangelizing and setting up home Bible studies. What an encouragement to see the gospel going forth a part from ourselves. Our team is in the US and the gospel marches on. It is truly a blessing to partner with men and women who have a heart to reach the world for Christ.

Our trip to DC was exciting; we had a group of ten young adults from Weston, FL come out. They did an incredible job as they interned in congressional offices, helped lead the Politics and Principles Luncheon, developed relationships with peers, and gained insight into how the Center for Christian Statesmanship (CCS) is actively reaching the nation for Christ. I invite you to pray for one of the participants as they are currently praying about going on staff with CCS.

At the end of the trip, the takeaway for me was purely encouragement, encouraged to see that we have representatives and senators who love Jesus and want to make a difference for Christ in our nation’s capitol. Every Monday after the first vote, several of them come together for a weekly time of prayer in a back chapel of the US Capitol. While meeting with Rep. Todd Akin, he shared his views on how the “Bible is a Blueprint for Life.” Rep Michelle Bachman led us in prayer in the Old Senate Chamber while we toured the Capitol. Event after event, it was amazing to see the Christian presence on Capital Hill.

As for what’s next, this coming Tuesday night I fly to Europe for a month. In Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Vienna we’ll be teaching a condensed version of EE during the day.  At night, Pastor Groves is going to teach fellow pastors about discipling new believers through a book he wrote entitled, “Spiritual Boot Camp.” As that trip comes to a close, I’ll be flying to Berlin, Germany to meet with Carter and Rio Vista Church to teach a contextualized version of XEE. As I’ve said before and I’ll say again, it’s been and going to be a whirlwind. Please pray for good health as we travel, and also pray that God would surprise us by what He has in store. Thank you for your prayers and encouragement!

Interns with Rep Todd Akin

Before I take off on another week long trip, I wanted to upload a couple photos to share with you. Upon my return I’ll update you on how the trip went and share some stories, but until then, enjoy the photos.

Click here to see the pictures.

As many of you know, just before moving from Chicago to Fort Lauderdale, I was able to facilitate a semester of XEE with a great group of students at The Chapel in Grayslake, IL. Recently, Tony shared with me a story of how  he used what he learned in XEE. I hope you’re as encouraged as I am!

Two weekends ago I went on a retreat with my friend’s church and eleven other kids. There was one kid named Jon who had been going to church for many years and not yet surrendered his life to Jesus. He was one of those kids whose friends were few because most people labeled him as “annoying” and “obnoxious”, and the rest simply ignored him.  We rode in the same car on the way out to the retreat. I had a heated spiritual discussion with my best friend, who was also in the car, about: our future, misconceptions in the American church and how grateful we are that God loves us. It was a great discussion that Jon overheard. Unfortunately, at that time, I was one of those who ignored Jon despite my typical kindness to him.

After the ride there, I really felt God encouraging me to love and build a relationship with Jon. I did. We were tossing a tennis ball to each other and talking with one of the leaders for a good hour and a half. The Father revealed to me who Jon is and how beautiful and loved he is. My heart for Jon was becoming in sync with God’s. It was an unspeakable experience! As others piled into the bunks to prepare for bed, we began to talk about who God is and how He loves Jon. Jon learned a lot that night. We enjoyed a great time of prayer together.

Saturday and Sunday, I continued to build a friendship with him. Some of the other kids who went caught on and also talked to Jon. The Holy Spirit in Nick, Zack, and I had really inspired him in remarkable ways. I have never felt so Spirit-filled than when I obeyed God’s commands and actually talked to Jon. I could feel the Spirit moving mountains in me! I didn’t see it in Jon until the youth group that Monday.

He had been thinking about what we said and who God is and who he himself is, and he declared to the youth group that he would make a dramatic change in his faith… next Sunday. I imagine God’s not too big on procrastination, because that night was the most life-changing experience he had ever encountered. At youth group, Jon decided that God probably didn’t like certain aspects of his lifestyle. Out of obedience, he began making the changes.

That night Jon described as “the saddest night of my life, and the happiest night of my life! I guess God couldn’t wait till Sunday — He wanted me to change my faith that day”.

All this because I obeyed God by building a relationship with someone. I will never be the same in the way I deal with my relationships. Also I hope this may have inspired you guys to develop relationships for the glory of God. Once you do that, it seems like the Holy Spirit just takes over and fills you with fruit and speaks through you. It’s AMAZING!

I don’t think I could have gone through a more abrupt climate change during my move to Fort Lauderdale. While packing my car, there was a fourth of an inch of ice on the roads. My mom called to tell me that there was a yard sale of about 30 cars in the ditch on I-74, all within a half mile of each other. To leave praying that I wouldn’t end up in a ditch, and to arrive at the Georgia / Florida boarder wishing that my air conditioning worked was quite a shock. I still can’t believe that it’s February 3rd and it’s 70 degrees outside.

Shortly after my arrival, the work began. Monday to Wednesday, we hosted an XEE launch at Coral Ridge. What a privilege it was to serve churches from Canada, Virginia, Minnesota, Florida and Washington D.C. Several of our launch participants were former missionaries, one couple to Canada and another just home from Chad. Their ease of understanding and their fresh insights of different people groups were refreshing and challenging.

The day after the launch, Adam and I started setting up my office. It was a great test of our teamwork as we had to move, and play hide and go seek with the 6, 400 pound filing cabinets that were in my office. We’ve been getting questions about where they’ve gone, or how one of them ‘magically’ appeared in the break room. We just shrug our shoulders and inform them “it was Brian’s idea.” Childish I know, but it seems to work.

One of the highlights of the week was visiting Rio Vista Community Church on Sunday. If you recall, Rio was the team we took to Kuala Lumpur / Singapore. On Sunday we unveiled the location of this summer’s trip. The first week of August we are going to Berlin, Germany. As of right now, there is now no formal way of training German churches on how to share the gospel. From what our contact in Germany has informed us, after the wall came down, it was a free for all with the gospel. As a result, Germans were turned off from “organized religion” and Christianity. Our goal over the next several months is to create a culturally relevant version of XEE specific to the Berlin culture.

Would you join me in praying as I’m still in the process of finding a permanent place to live, a church to call home and a new (to me) car. With each day, I’m getting more and more settled, but my guess is that until these big three are settled it won’t feel like home. Thank you again for all of your support and encouragement!

Have you ever tried explaining what you do to somebody and it turns from what should be a one sentence descriptor to a briefing of your job description? Yesterday while on the phone with Adam, we finally figured out the best way to describe what XEE is and does. We actually stopped the conversation and had a mini-celebration as a result.

So without further ado: “XEE teaches Jesus followers how to tell the story of the gospel within the context of relationship.”

A friend had this quote posted on his facebook page this morning. Very thought provoking. Enjoy!

from JD Greear’s blog today:

“I can’t help but feel that lurking beneath the surface in much of the current disillusionment with the church is a dis-ease with the traditional message of salvation. People are passionate about the poor, the environment, and third-world debt. But they seem embarrassed by a violent, bloody atonement for sin, let alone any mention of the afterlife that hangs in the balance.

My observation is that as people grow tired of hearing about the atonement, salvation, the cross, and the afterlife, they grow tired of church. Because the more that sin and redemption and heaven and hell recede into the background, the more the church becomes just one among several options for making a difference in the world.

So as much as the church has been nothing but a holy huddle at times and as much as I admire zeal for good works, there is a danger in much of the missional literature that the gospel of God’s grace toward sinners gets swallowed up in urgent calls for world redemption and cultural transformation. There is a danger of centering our churches on adopting schools and offering parenting classes instead of being centered on the message of a heavenly Father who adopts unworthy children of wrath through the work of His Son on the cross. There is a danger that we find our unity in doing good missional deeds for our community and not in the good news of the gospel. There’s a danger our Christianity becomes all imperative and no indicative, all about what we need to do with God and little about what God’s done for us. There’s a danger that when people get disinterested in the gospel, they get disinterested in the church. And once they leave the church, they’ve left the only institution whose mission aims for eternity and whose gospel is truly good news.”

- Kevin DeYoung and Ted Kluck, Why We Love the Church, pp. 50-51

Today I write from the nations capitol of Washington D.C. George Roller, a co-laborer in Christ and good friend is the Executive Director of the Center For Christian Statesmanship.  For two years we’ve talked about putting a trip together and having me come out. What a treat it’s been to experience Capitol Hill with him!

So far, I’ve walked through the Senate buildings helping deliver flyers to all 100 US Senators for our Politics and Principles luncheon tomorrow, joined in and met Senate Chaplain Black during his Friday Bible study (only in America can the gospel be preached from inside the Senate Building, conquered old Rag Mountain in Virginia, visited Great Falls (saw some incredible kayakers surfing the rapids…check out the video,) and today wandered the hallowed halls of Capital Building, Supreme Court and Library of Congress.

It may sound like a lot of fun, and don’t be misled…it is, we are using this time to plan our Mission To Congress this coming summer. I’ve been blown away to think that so much of the world has been influenced from this one location. To walk where histories heroes such as Lincoln, Adams, Washington and Jefferson walked and set direction for a united nation. It’s been exciting to  see and experience. I’ll write more when I’m not exhausted and can share about our Politics and Principles luncheon.

Last week I had the privilege of participating in the Catalyst 09 conference. Andy Stanley, Francis Chan, Louie Giglio and worship leader Steve Fee were in demand as they headlined the conference. However those weren’t the expected highlights for me.

I would have never guessed that Chuck Swindoll would be my highlight. I was pleasantly surprised. After receiving the lifetime achievement award for 50 plus faithful years of ministry, he continued to share with us 10 ministry lessons gleaned from his experience. There is no need to type them out here as you can click this link and be redirected to a summary of his talk. Maybe it’s where I’m at in life, but I can see this sermon being one I return to time and time again for it’s ageless wisdom.